The Dental CEO Podcast

Dr. Divya Patel was two years out of dental school when she made a decision most dentists take a decade to make: open her own startup instead of buying an established practice.In this episode, Scott sits down with Dr. Patel to unpack why she walked away from Toronto's acquisition market and built Pearl Dental Studio from the ground up instead. They break down the real math behind "buying a practice twice," once to acquire it, and again to actually fix it into your vision, and why that math made a startup the lower-risk path for her, not the riskier one.In this episode:Why acquiring an established practice can cost more long-term than building one from scratchWhat it actually costs to open a five-op startup in Toronto today, and how Canadian dentists access fundingHow Dr. Patel built a patient experience around comfort and quality instead of volume and insurance-driven case mixWhat it's like to bet on yourself as a young dentist, before a spouse, before kids, before "waiting until you're ready" starts costing you yearsHer 2-3 year vision for the practice, including plans for a second locationLearn more about Pearl Dental Studio: pearldentalstudio.ca | pearl.dental.studioIf you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the Dental CEO Podcast and leave a review, it helps other dentists find these conversations.🎧 Listen now: www.dentalceopodcast.com

ChatGPT just rolled out ads for small businesses, and dentists are already testing it, often with no idea what they're doing.In this episode, Scott Leune sits down with Bill Donato, founder of DentalMarketing.com, to break down what's actually working in dental marketing right now: ChatGPT ads, Google Ads, AI-powered SEO, and a channel most dentists have written off as outdated: direct mail.Bill has spent over a decade running marketing for dental practices across the U.S. and Canada, and he pulls back the curtain on where new opportunity actually lives versus where dentists are wasting budget.In this episode, you'll learn:Why ChatGPT ads are in their "early Google Ads" phase right now, and what that means for cost per click while the window is openThe tracking problem almost no one is talking about: why your ChatGPT campaign might show zero conversions when it's actually workingWhat a "conversion event" really is, and why setting it up correctly matters more than your ad copy or budgetWhy direct mail is quietly outperforming digital ads on a cost basis: one mail piece can cost the same as a single Google click, but reach 20 householdsThe "new mover" mail strategy top practices use to reach families before they've even started searching for a dentistWhy mailers boost your SEO and Google rankings, even when the recipient never callsHow to build a marketing strategy that layers AI-enabled SEO, Google Ads, direct mail, and ChatGPT ads instead of betting everything on one channelWhat to do differently if you're opening a new practice versus scaling an existing one, including why marketing should start 3-6 months before your doors openWhether you're evaluating a new marketing channel or auditing whether your current one is actually delivering, this episode gives you a clear, practical framework for where to invest next.Connect with Bill Donato:Website: dentalmarketing.com (free marketing analysis available)Email: [email protected]🎧 Listen now: dentalceopodcast.com🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode: dentalceopodcast.com

Last week's episode challenged the traditional path to retirement. This week, Scott Leune gets tactical: what should you actually be doing in dentistry, right now, at your specific age, to make that philosophy real?In Part 2 of this series, Scott walks through the exact practice models that align with the semi-retire-twice framework, breaking down what each decade of a dental career should look like and why.Scott breaks down:Why age 26 to 35 should be about high income and low costs, and why becoming a practice owner as fast as possible is the single biggest lever for building wealth in this decadeWhy the highest-earning associates usually make even better-earning owners, and why staying an associate too long can quietly cap your ceilingTwo specific ways to structure a practice so you can drop to part-time in your late 30s and 40s without losing income, including dropping insurance plans for fee-for-service and building a "big case only" scheduleHow replacing yourself with associates the right way can get your personal overhead down to 10%, letting you take home the majority of what you produce on just one clinical day a weekWhy age 46 to 65 can become your highest-earning, highest-impact decade, and how adding practices during this phase builds both income and a business worth sellingWhat it actually looks like to reach 65 without burnout, with a healthy family, a nest egg, and a new chapter built around passion instead of retirementIf you've ever wondered whether you're in the right decade doing the right things, or whether you need a complete reset, this episode gives you the specific dental practice models to actually make the shift.🎧 Listen and subscribe: https://dentalceopodcast.com

What if the traditional retirement plan, work hard for 40 years and finally retire at 65, is actually the reason so many dentists end up burned out, broke on experiences, and full of regret?In Part 1 of this two-part series, Scott Leune revisits a post he wrote 16 years ago that challenged everything he'd been taught about building wealth and retiring. Instead of one big retirement at the end of a career, Scott lays out a philosophy of semi-retiring twice: once during the years your kids need you most, and again once you've built enough wealth to slow down for good.Scott breaks down:Why the traditional "work hard, save, retire at 65" path leads to the most common regrets he's heard from wealthy people, again and againThe four life phases (18-25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-65) and what your income, savings, and schedule should look like in each oneWhy your 20s and early 30s should be about high income and low costs, not lifestyle upgradesHow to structure your practice so you can drop to two or three days a week during the years your family needs you mostWhy your late 40s through 60s can become your highest-earning, highest-impact years, if you've set yourself up correctlyHow this philosophy applies directly to practice ownership, associateships, and the timing of buying, building, or selling a practiceThis episode lays the groundwork for a bigger conversation. In Part 2, Scott will get tactical, walking through the specific dental practice models that make semi-retiring twice actually possible at each stage of your career.If you've ever felt like the traditional path to retirement doesn't match the life you actually want to live, this episode will change how you think about your career, your family, and your money.

Episode 80: There's a good chance you've never heard of DHP. While Schein, Patterson, Darby, and Benco dominate the conversation around dental equipment and supplies, DHP has quietly built a 35-plus-year, privately held, family-owned business that Scott says delivers strong pricing and personal service, without the brand recognition to match.Scott sits down with Dale Roberts, DHP's founder and CEO, and Nick Roberts, COO, to unpack what makes the company different, across both equipment and everyday supplies. Rather than steering dentists toward a narrow list of premium brands, DHP shows the full range of options, from budget-friendly to premium, and lets the dentist decide what's actually right for their practice. That same $15,000 "workhorse" chair some distributors recommend often has a $4,000-$5,000 equivalent that performs just as well, and DHP is the company willing to show dentists that option exists.They also get into how tariffs have driven up pricing on gloves and other everyday supplies over the past year, squeezing dentist margins at the same time patients have less to spend, and how DHP's service model, real technicians' dentists can call directly rather than an impersonal dispatch system, extends across both equipment repair and ongoing supply relationships. Dale and Nick share what they're seeing across the industry right now: flat patient volume since 2009, new tariff-driven pricing pressure, a slowdown in DSO growth tied to higher interest rates, and why private practice ownership is still thriving despite it all.In this episode:Who DHP is, and how a privately held, family-owned company built a 35-plus-year track record across equipment and suppliesWhy DHP shows dentists a full range of equipment options across different price pointsHow tariffs have driven up pricing on everyday supplies like gloves, and what that's done to dentist marginsHow DHP handles repair and service, with real technicians dentists can call directlyThe real price difference between a premium patient chair and one that performs just as wellHow DSO pricing structures compare to what private dentists typically seeWhat's really happening with dental industry trends: patient flow, tariffs, and DSO growthScott's strategy for financing equipment like CBCTs and scanners separately from your startup loanLearn more: dhpsupply.com🎧 Listen now: www.dentalceopodcast.com🔔 Subscribe: www.dentalceopodcast.com